Climbing Wall Leading

Product Description

This book is in the same series & is a natural follow-up to the successful Climbing Games. With the increase in the use of climbing walls more people are learning to lead indoors. This tends to be a more rapid progression than it may be outdoors, & also allows access to much steeper leading at a lower level of climbing experience. There is also an expectation that falling off is the norm, a complete reversal of early stages of leading outdoors on traditional climbs. Teaching leading indoors should be done progressively, the aim being to develop the climbing skills needed very thoroughly. Developing the skills for safe & efficient lead belaying is equally important. Ian Fenton has been involved in teaching leading outdoors & on indoor walls for a number of years. This has also involved evaluating & signing off other instructors to teach leading, at a number of climbing walls; both prior to the advent of the Climbing Wall Leading Award (CWLA), & now as a provider of the CWLA. In the past the teaching of leading has often been done haphazardly, with limited progression, poor route choice & inappropriate belaying. With the help of the exercises in this book it should be possible to design an appropriate progression to suit any individual, of any age or ability, who is learning to lead indoors & lead belay. Ian began climbing with the scouts & his brother in 1972. They both moved on to leading in Lancashire & Yorkshire, but when transport was a problem climbed on the local GPO store wall, until the police believed they were breaking in! Climbing was something you did outdoors back then, & during the winters they ventured out winter climbing, & aid climbing, & visits to Leeds University climbing wall were a way to keep fit. Meeting various local climbers over the years lead to Ian climbing through many areas of the UK & visits to Norway, France & Spain. Redundancy when twenty-seven lead to tak